Mimicry
by Murr-Quan Lord 2
Summary: Tails finds a new pet, and shortly thereafter strange things start to occur. The "most original" entry in NetRaptor's 2000 contest, and set in her interpretation of the Sonic universe. First-time author who is much more accustomed to writing humor.


Mimicry

by Jared Spurbeck, Murr-Quan Lord #2

LEGAL NOTICE: Sonic and related characters are copyrighted by Sega or Archie comics. Slasher, Spike and Zephyr are copyrighted by K. M. Hollar, used with permission. This story was written around a fanfiction contest teaser provided on NetRaptor.org. The Mimic is copyrighted by Jared Spurbeck, and is most decidedly not a "self-insert". Have you hugged a Penguin today?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is intended to take place in the NetRaptor Sonic universe, stretching from the end of The Epic Adventure to the beginning of Operation SQ.

And, finally, my associates on the Council of Lords insisted that I include this...

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: The Murr-Quan Hierarchy assumes no responsibility for Lord #2's primitive attempts at imitating human prose, or any time wasted in perusing the results thereof. Our psychology is vastly different, and we also make no guarantees about his written delusions even remotely resembling actual human, or Mobian, thought. Read at your own risk.

***

The rock was perhaps a half-inch long; perfectly symmetrical along a vertical axis, somewhat oval-shaped. A light grayish color. Drifting slowly, gradually, oblivious to its surroundings. Silently as well, because sound cannot travel through space.

Then, after countless years of uneventful orbit around the tiny globe of Delta Pavonis Three - called "Mobius" by its inhabitants - something reached out and grabbed it.

***

Biosciences probe 27-B had no idea who its creators were - for all it knew, they could have been anyone from a long-lost Mobian civilization to the inhabitants of Little Planet, or even incomprehensible beings from another star - but its appearance was distinctive enough. The machine was a sort of reddish, mechanical scorpion, perhaps seven feet long, with a large sensory cluster built into the place where the stinger should be.

At the time, that sensory cluster was sweeping the Mobians in front of it with its electronic gaze. The machine recognized that there were perhaps seven or eight of them, carrying crude weapons and approaching cautiously.

One of them said something in an unknown language. Was it trying to communicate? The probe logged all the speech that it heard so as to gradually decipher it, and then broadcasted greetings in its native language.

At the growling, clicking sound of the probe's greetings, one of the bipeds leaped forward and thrust its spear at the machine. Skittering backwards on eight legs, it avoided severe damage. Obviously these lifeforms pose a threat, it "thought". Lacking defensive subroutines, it instead turned and fled, the Mobians in pursuit.

It did not experience any fear as it did so, nor did it experience any pain as it was overtaken and crushed.

It was also unaware of its storage compartment being breached and opened to the air and the summer sunlight, of the greenish rock swelling upon exposure to both and then exploding, a fine dust swirling around the tiny compartment. Several spores were drawn out through the crack in the probe's hull, and at least one made contact with the warm ground and promptly embedded itself in it...

Part One

---------

A grayish tendril broke the ground, followed by the rest of the mobile, fungal mass. Several inches long now, it looked almost like an octopus, or a human nerve cell. Essentially neural matter encased in a tough sheath, it was practically a psionic antenna - listening to the thoughts of every lifeform around it, searching for intelligent, coherent patterns.

But there were none in its immediate vicinity, the Mobians having abandoned the probe's smoking wreckage several days ago. A small bird approached the wriggling mass, trying to decide whether or not it was good to eat, and eventually abandoning it.

At this point the Mimic was largely driven by simple instinct. Having already stored enough raw nutrients while in the ground, it required only one thing for the time being - thought. Unfortunately, the only thought in the vicinity came from tiny insects at best. Enough to subsist, but not enough to grow. It would have to find more coherent patterns.

It cartwheeled its tentacles along the ground, propelling itself through the grass. Lacking visual or auditory organs, it simply continued going in one direction for several hours, until it could no longer sense any other lifeforms and it collapsed, reverting to a dormant state.

***

The Freedom Fighters entered their village's community cabin, chatting amongst themselves until Slasher, the resident winged velociraptor, addressed them. "Okay, people, the party's over. We have work to do."

Sonic protested from a seat near the front. "But we just got back from Sapphire City..." He had lost track of time.

"Three days ago. More than enough time to rest, and," she smiled, "tell all those wildly exaggerated stories."

"They aren't exaggerated! Well, maybe a little..."

She continued. "Anyway, we have two basic projects to work on right now. First off, we're trying to get volunteers to help with Sapphire City's reconstruction." The city had suffered great damage when Chaos had inflicted his wrath on it, but Sonic had managed to save it from total destruction.

"I'll go," Sonic interrupted, Tails and Knuckles quickly adding their assent.

"No, you won't. Well, maybe you, Tails, but we need Sonic for another project that the princess has been working on. Sally?" Sonic contained his disappointment and listened.

The Mobian squirrel next to Slasher briefly checked her notes on the tiny computer she carried, and then spoke. "Just before you three got back, the astronomers in Riverbase detected some sort of object making a controlled landing several hundred miles away. Nobody knows what it is, but we'd like to check it out - could be one of Robotnik's weapons."

The hedgehog continued protesting in his eagerness to return to the human city. "But why do I have to come, Sal?"

'Sal' responded. "Like I said, the landing site is several hundred miles away, not to mention in the middle of a jungle, and no one else can make the trip in any reasonable amount of time." The velociraptor coughed, nudging her gently, and she blushed. "Except Slasher, but she's going to be helping with the rebuilding."

"Hey!" Knuckles broke in. "I'm pretty fast, too. Not to mention that I definitely know my way around a jungle."

"Fine," Slasher responded. "You can join him. We wanted someone to accompany Sonic anyhow." The Echidna muttered something about how he should never have spoken up, and Sally continued. "Okay then, that's settled. The rest of you, please come over here if you'd like to sign up for the reconstruction project."

Before any did so, Knuckles approached her. "Which jungle is it? Is there anything we should know about the place?"

She responded quickly, as several other Mobians were already forming a line. "It's the Lesser Jungle, quite a ways south of here. You can look it up if you want - nobody's really explored it much except for the Overlanders, but it's supposed to be pretty tame."

***

"Run!" Sonic shouted to his friend. They sprinted down the narrow path, not daring to look back. An arrow thudded to the ground between Sonic and Knuckles, missing them narrowly. "Wow! That was too close for comfort!" Knuckles shouted. "Just keep running," Sonic yelled sharply back at him. They ran for what seemed like hours and inevitably Knuckles had to stop to catch his breath. "I think we ... can stop," he puffed. Sonic glanced back. They were no longer being followed. 

Sonic fell to his knees on the path, pulled out his water container from his pack, and drank deeply. He let his body fall backward to the ground, and stared through the trees at the blue sky above while catching his breath. A few minutes later he fell asleep. Suddenly he was jolted awake by Knuckles shouting, "Hey, Sonic! I found something--a cave!" Sonic sat up and looked around. "Where are you, Knuckles?" "Over here," his friend's voice called back. Sonic followed the voice down a path to a clearing. 

"See?" said Knuckles, pointing at a large hole in the side of the mountain. Sonic looked through the opening and saw a vast tunnel, apparently leading straight into the mountain. "I think this will be a good place for us to spend the night. It'll be dark in a couple of hours," Knuckles said.

"I don't know ..." Sonic said hesitantly. "It's really dark in there." They stood there a couple of seconds before Sonic spoke up. "All right, we're going to have to find some way to light the cave and I don't have my flashlight. I lost it somewhere back there." Knuckles groaned and rubbed his head. "Hey, do you wanna go back there and look for it?" Sonic asked in annoyance. Knuckles quickly shook his head. "No thanks. I can do just fine without a flashlight."

"Okay then, it's also going to get really cold tonight, so I'm gonna go gather some firewood," Sonic said, heading off to gather some. An hour later, after sunset, the two were huddled around a blazing fire when they heard a strange noise coming from inside the cave. 

***

It awoke, long-unused neural matter coming alive as it sensed other life nearby. Not only that, sentient life.

The Mimic stretched itself out along the damp cave floor and moved a little closer so as to get better reception, its tentacles slapping the rock as it clumsily cartwheeled along it.

The only light came from the fire at the entrance to the cavern, and Sonic squinted at the wriggling mass on the floor, trying to make it out. "Eww, a spider!"

The echidna called out from the entrance. "Yes, you often see things like that in caves..." Sonic shook his head in disgust as he walked back to the fire. What a huge spider! It had to be at least the size of a larger-than-average tarantula. And it walked funny, too.

A half-hour later he was asleep, and did not notice the "spider" crawling closer.

***

It did not need to consume organic nutrients frequently, but welcomed the opportunity, as nutrients meant growth. And so it crawled across the floor, chemical receptors on its tentacles searching for organic material to eat. Some of them brushed across Sonic's face and sleeping bag. It recoiled - the former was living, and therefore a source of thought, while the latter had almost no nutritive value.

The Mimic continued crawling around aimlessly. How was it supposed to find something to eat? An answer came from the hedgehog's thoughts: there was ample food stored in his backpack.

Several minutes later, it had managed to puncture the plastic lining of a container of long-lasting emergency rations and crawled inside undetected, its feeding tendrils absorbing raw nutrients as it basked in the neural energy emitted by Sonic and his companion.

***

The squirrel had an exasperated look on her face. "What happened down there?"

"You mean before or after the Tribe That Time Forgot attacked us?" Remembering the experience anew, Sonic was just as upset as she was. He and Knuckles had hardly gotten a look at the wrecked probe before they were almost killed by spears, arrows, blowgun darts, and every conceivable combination of the above.

"Did you get ANY information whatsoever?"

"Yeah. It was shaped like a bug-"

"Scorpions are arachnids," the echidna pointed out.

"...an arachnid, then. It was as big as Slash, as red as Knux, and as dead as a doornail. Probably another one of Eggman's flimsy 'bots." He folded his arms, waiting for further queries with as much patience as he could muster.

"You're sure it was destroyed?"

"Well, let's see. There was this really big hole in the side, and a couple of spears jammed in at odd angles, and..."

Sally sighed. She didn't need his sarcasm, especially now when they were preparing another load of supplies to take down to the city. "All right, then. We'll talk about this later. For now you can get ready to leave again-" he was about to cut her off, but she spoke quickly, "for Sapphire City. You can help with the rebuilding. Put your supplies away and get ready to go. You too, Knuckles."

"All right!" With that, Sonic was out the door at his trademark speeds, his echidna companion following shortly thereafter.

***

Sonic ran to the main supply shed, opened his backpack up and eagerly flung its contents onto the many crates, boxes and barrels within. Sally and Slasher complained whenever he did that, but he was so excited that he hardly remembered their admonitions in his haste to "unpack" and replace his pack's contents with... well, whatever I'll need for going back to the city, he thought. There were some hotels and restaurants that weren't damaged, last I checked...

The Mimic was, to say the least, adversely affected by this turn of events. Awakened from its combination nap and mealtime, it tumbled end over end to land in what was roughly the middle of the shed, in between several crates and completely isolated from any discernable nutrients or thoughts.

It began its hibernation again...

Part Two - Several months later

--------------------------------

The night wind howled menacingly at the denizens of Knothole Village, screaming around the trees and buildings, driving rain into everything at markedly high speeds even as it threatened to do worse. Freezing rain, at that, which would undoubtedly harden into ice by morning.

Tails had always been scared of storms that were this violent, and so Princess Sally had donned coat and boots to make her way across the wet, icy snow - with great difficulty - to his hut. Sure enough, he had been huddled under the covers, even more fearful at her arrival, but he had perked up upon recognizing her and was now listening to her read a story. It was a very simple story; he had few other books, save a technical manual or two that he had picked up on their last visit to the human city, and she wasn't even going to try to read them.

The fox was remarkably bright. "Hydraulic Assembly Specifications, volume one" right next to "The Child's Treasury of Fairy Tales"? Sally smiled at the amusing contradiction, and continued reading.

However, she was interrupted by a very loud _crack_ outside, Tails instantly hiding under his blanket again. Jumping up to look out the window, she was surprised to see a giant hole in the main supply shed a dozen yards away.

With a quick explanation to the fox, she put her gear back on and ran outside, summoning the other villagers, hoping to have the supplies transferred before they were ruined.

***

Tails peeked out to watch her leave and was instantly ashamed of himself. Just this year, he had administered a beating to the Egg Carrier - no pun intended, he thought - and now he was hiding from a little storm! Well, maybe not so little, but...

He leaped out of bed and threw on his shoes and coat, as if he were trying to make it outside before his fear caught up to him. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he was almost reminded of Windy Valley; perhaps the wind wasn't quite as strong, but the rain and the cold made up for that.

Wrapping his two tails around himself, he made his way for the supply shed, the wind seemingly trying to blow him off course. By the time he made it, most of the village was awake and present, transferring supplies to an auxilary storage hut.

He hardly had the time to ask any questions before someone handed him a small box and told him where to put it. And so, Tails quickly got so caught up in the frenzy of activity that he hardly noticed the tiny squid-like organism clinging to his foot.

***

Wet, weary and exhausted, he returned to his hut several hours later, tossing his coat onto the floor and carefully unwrapping his numb tails before collapsing on the bed.

And then jumping back up with a start, a minute before he would have fallen asleep. Something was trying to crawl up his leg! He reflexively brushed it off, and then took a closer look at the creature, a childish fascination with strange and slimy lifeforms taking over where anxiety and fatigue left off.

And slimy it was, after being out in the rain unprotected. For that matter, it looked downright pathetic, barely even moving.

"Wow," Tails said. "What are you supposed to be?" Lacking vocal chords it did not answer - not that he really expected it to - and so he went over to his bookshelf and grabbed a volume about Mobian wildlife, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that the whatever-it-was didn't try to run off or anything.

Setting himself down on his stomach near the lifeform, which seemed to be trying to curl up on his blanket, he browsed through the book. Predictably enough, he didn't find anything remotely like it, though it did bear a slight resemblance to certain forms of sea life. Maybe he had discovered a new species! Not that his book was exactly comprehensive. Maybe, he thought, I can show it to Aunt Sally tomorrow... her computer could tell me about this thing I'm sure.

He yawned; sleepiness was beginning to catch up with him. But what was he supposed to do with the creature? Looking about his room, his eyes settled on a small cardboard box on a shelf. Dumping various small toys out of it and onto his desk, he carefully placed the limp, slippery form - it felt sort of like spaghetti - into the box and closed it, tearing an airhole or two in the top afterwards. Hopefully it won't escape, he thought. Or die... it really doesn't look all that healthy.

Not that he would know what to do, especially as tired as he was. Remembering, this time, to remove his still-wet shoes first, he crawled back under the covers and soon fell asleep.

***

Sally and Slasher were trying to inventory the hastily-transported food the next morning when Tails ran up to them carrying the cardboard box, forgetting breakfast in his eagerness and almost slipping on the ice. "Slasher! Aunt Sally! Lookit this!" And with that, the open box was thrust into their field of vision, its contents still alive and wriggling around somewhat, trying to steady itself.

The squirrel did not even have time to protest before she was treated to a glimpse of what was, in her opinion, at least the second-most disgusting creature Tails had ever insisted on showing her. "It's very..." "Interesting," the raptor finished for her.

Tails nodded eagerly, addressing Sally. "I don't know what it is, but it's definitely cool. Can you have Nicole look it up? I don't know what it eats or anything." And, with some reluctance, she did so. But the Mimic was already nourishing itself in its own way, basking in the new surplus of neural energy. Especially that of the fox that had been in such close proximity to it for several hours now - it had grown enough that the thoughts it received were beginning to permanently imprint themselves on its mind.

***

Walking back to his hut, Tails spoke to the wriggling mass in the box he carried. He could be a very talkative child at times, and many a nonsentient lifeform had been subjected to hours of one-sided dialogue. "Nicole doesn't even know what you are. Cool, huh? You're a whole new species! Does that mean I get to name you? I wonder what would be a good name-" He stopped, interrupted by a spiny blue hedgehog that had just pulled up next to him.

"Mornin', little bro! What's in the box?"

He responded, tilting the box's contents into the hedgehog's view. "I don't know, but it sure is cool. Nicole doesn't even know what it is. Did I discover a new species, Sonic?"

"I don't know... where did you find it?"

"It got itself attached to my foot while I was helping with the supplies last night, I think."

Sonic smiled. "I'm not surprised. Some of that stuff probably hasn't been touched in a billion years or so. Who knows what else you could find?" He was interrupted by Slasher calling to him from the hut where the supplies had been moved. With an almost apologetic look to his companion, he said, "Guess Slash wants me to help over there. Later, Tails!"

***

He continued speaking to the lifeform as he set its box back down on his desk. "I wonder what you eat? Nicole said you were a fungus, right? Isn't mold a fungus? Hmm..." An idea coming to him, he ran out, and a quick trip to the food storage later he was back carrying a piece of bread.

To his pleasure, the otherwise sedate pile of tentacles extended several of them into the food. It was about as content as it could possibly get, a good deal of that due to the new neural pathways it was imprinting as it listened to Tails' thoughts.

It didn't know why, but it found him to be immensely fascinating. Remembering the way that Tails regarded Sonic, it decided right then and there that it wanted to be exactly like the fox.

***

For almost a week thereafter Tails was obsessed with the creature, much to the annoyance or disgust of many of the other villagers. Sonic, however, found it amusing, and got quite a kick out of seeing Sally's reactions to his friend's enthusiastic retelling of whatever it was he'd done with his new pet that day.

Tails found that it would eat almost anything that he could, and that when it was sufficiently energetic it would actually cartwheel itself along the floor - usually towards him. He didn't see any eyes or ears on it, but somehow it always knew where he was.

For its part, the Mimic was just as absorbed in Tails as he was with it, perhaps even more so. Everything that he thought while in proximity to it was diligently transcribed in the neural matter that comprised most of its interior. It held the same awe for Tails that he had for Sonic, and loved sensing the fox's pleased reactions to his antics.

However, one day it did something that he did not find quite as amusing.

***

"Sonic! Sonic!" Tails came running over the snow to the hedgehog, his right hand over part of his left arm.

The hedgehog put his hands up. "Whoa! What's going on?"

Tails lifted his hand to reveal an inch-long cut across his arm. Not having found a name for the creature which he deemed appropriate, he said, "It bit me!"

"What?" Sonic looked confused.

"My pet! It bit me, or something! I was playing with it on my desk, and then it just swung one of its tentacles around and that happened!" He pointed to the injury, both shocked and upset.

"Why would it do that?"

"I don't know!"

"Come on, little bro... we'd better get you a bandage and some disinfectant." Who knew what kind of germs that thing carried?

***

The Mimic was disappointed at its "owner"'s grief, but was primarily acting on instinct again - it had something very important to do.

Crawling around the desk until it reached the wall, it attached itself to the vertical surface and continued along it until it reached the window, breaking a hole in it with surprising strength and then leaping out. From there, it dug through the snow and burrowed into the ground.

The DNA sample that it had obtained hadn't been perfectly copied, but it had an intuitive understanding of the chemical algorithims and changed the genes around, filling in gaps and modifying certain parameters...

Part Three - The next day

--------------------------

He looked around, still adjusting to the task of processing visual input. Everything was so... he didn't really know how to describe it, having only experienced such sensations as color and depth through the filter of Tails' memories.

Picturesque, he thought, might be a good word. And all this just in back of the hut - he had heard the fox awakening, even calling for his pet, but had hidden under the window instead of responding. He was genuinely very shy; afraid of what Tails' reaction might be, contemplating not telling him who he was.

Continuing to look around, trying to get used to his eyes, he almost missed his own form. With its fluffy, white fur, it blended into the snow very well, twin tails and all. Even up close it was difficult to spot when one only had an hour's worth of experience with vision.

But, he gradually forced his eyes to focus properly. He was aware of other sensations at this time, such as a numbing cold along his feet and tails (which were pressed into the snow as he sat), only mitigated by his thick fur. If only he could have grown boots as well...

He stood up, the sudden movement almost throwing his inexperienced balance off; fortunately he had recorded some of Tails' reflexes. Steadying himself, assuming an upright position, he brushed the snow off of his legs and experimentally walked a few steps, noticing the cold snow crunching under his bare feet.

A few minutes later, he was fairly sure that he could walk properly. But what to do now? He became even more nervous at this thought. He hadn't even known what he was going to do until a few seconds before he had instinctively sampled the fox's genetic patterns, and now here he was, in a strange world of bipedal lifeforms, looking almost exactly like his idol!

Surely Tails would know what to do. He rebuilt aircraft and fought robots on a regular basis. He could even fly!

He looked back at his own tails and tried to spin them around a couple of times at this, but was unable to generate any measurable lift.

Of course Tails would know what should be done, he thought. But I can't possibly contact him; what would he think? What if he doesn't like me? What if...

His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps inside the nearby hut. Almost frozen with fear and indecision, he stood in place as the orangish fox caught sight of him through the window and approached it.

***

Tails was originally hoping to talk to Spike, the only porcupine in the village, about the crossbow the two of them had been designing; but he had been arguing with Sonic and Zephyr. He had decided to go back to his hut and maybe play a computer game instead, but he was so dejected that the prospect hardly thrilled him. First his favorite pet runs off, and now he can't even find anyone to talk to.

Well, he thought, I probably could if I tried, but I really wanted to see Spike in particular.

He walked to his desk, eyes falling on the window as he did so. There was a jagged hole in it where his pet had escaped, though a small pillow had been stuffed in it as a temporary measure to keep cold air from coming in. And what was that? He thought he saw something outside his window that wasn't supposed to be there.

Tails went to the window and stared at the newcomer. An arctic fox, about his age. No boots or gloves on, but what was even more unusual was the extra tail. He'd never seen anyone else like that, and he was, to say the least, very surprised at the sight.

As if the other wasn't. He certainly looked like he hadn't expected to be seen, and returned the stare with even wider eyes.

Tails had definitely never seen this particular fox around Knothole before. Removing the pillow, he put his mouth to the crack in the window and called out, "Who are you?" Perhaps considering that to be somewhat rude, he introduced himself as well. "I'm Tails."

***

The Mimic - or fox? - just continued staring for several seconds, until he realized that a response was expected. "Um... I... I don't know..." He was horribly embarrassed, and had little idea as to what he should say. It was only a small comfort that his first attempt at actual speech had been as coherent as it was.

A blank stare. "You don't know who you are?"

"Ah... nope." He shook his head vigorously. At this point, he genuinely did not know.

"Are you an amnesiac or something?"

"Erm... maybe." He couldn't remember anything before he had crawled out of the dirt in that jungle, after all...

***

Tails was filled with pity as he saw the obviously frightened Mobian outside his window, who was beginning to shiver, not having a coat or anything. He didn't even remember who he was! Maybe he had escaped from Robotnik or something. Or maybe he just got de-robotized, and couldn't remember anything before he had been turned into a robot. Yes, that was probably it... Tails was sure he'd heard the other villagers talking about that sort of thing happening once or twice before.

"Would you like to come inside?" he asked, politely.

Cold and nervousness alike were beginning to prompt genuine, almost violent shivering on the part of the other fox. "S... sure..." he replied through chattering teeth.

He made his way around the hut and through the door, slipping on the ice once and narrowly keeping from incurring serious damage to himself. Once he got inside, he was surprised at how warm it was compared to the building's freezing exterior.

He must have really been shivering, he thought, because as soon as he entered Tails put his coat around him and made him sit down on a nearby chair, shutting the door. And then jumping to conclusions. "Do you remember anything at all before you were robotized?"

Huh? "Nope." Well, it was a true answer, he had never been robotized after all...

"Wow. Do you even know where your family is?"

The arctic fox shook his head again. If he had a family, he thought, he certainly didn't know where it was. He really didn't want to tell Tails who he was, but he was becoming uncomfortable with these half-truths. He sort of wished that he could still clearly sense the other fox's thoughts; being woven into this new form's nervous system, he could barely make out anything beyond it.

***

Now Tails really felt sorry for the stranger. He was only his age, and had already been robotized and separated from his family! He pondered what should be done. He should probably tell Sonic; no, Slasher would likely have a better idea of what to do.

But right now, Tails thought, he definitely needed to warm up. Leaving his coat with the other fox, he announced that he would be right back and returned a few minutes later with two mugs of hot water and several packets of instant chocolate.

His visitor was still seated, the shivering only having subsided a little. He watched as Tails stirred the mix with a small spoon, and subsequently handed him the steaming mug. Under the other's prompting he took a few cautious sips - in Tails' haste the water had not been heated to boiling levels, and so it was fairly tolerable to his cold tongue as he eagerly continued to drink.

Having already eaten breakfast Tails wasn't exactly hungry or thirsty, and only consumed a tiny amount of his own mug's contents. What should he do now? He should tell Sally or Slasher, but they were busy the last time he'd checked. They probably wouldn't mind being interrupted over this, though, he thought... once the amnesiac thaws out a little I should probably see if they can help him.

And thaw out he did, sneezing quite a few times in the process and setting the mug down so as to keep from spilling its contents.

As the coldness left him he began to be able to think more clearly. Embarrassment returned, so intense now that he wished he could crawl back into the dirt and never come out. He was just supposed to be Tails' pet, but now here he was, perceiving the world in the same ways that he did and interacting with it on the same scale. And talking with _him_.

He became very conscious of his face. As a tiny mass of tentacles it had been impossible to ascertain what, if any, mental state he was in, but now his thoughts were reflected in its expressions. He began to despair even more at this, his face contorting in response, which only reminded him of his perceived difficulties.

"Don't cry," Tails consoled him. "I'll take you to Slasher and Aunt Sally; they'll be able to help."

***

The former was unavailable at the time, but the latter was quickly found and brought up to date with what Tails had managed to learn, his companion with him. He followed numbly, not because of the cold - the winter coat and boots he had been lent saw to that - but because of the awkwardness he experienced. An instinct that he did not understand had forced him into this Mobian form, and now here he was, parading it around for the whole village to see. In his mind he was a highly conspicuous intruder into their world with no business being there, and he tried to look as small as possible.

For her part, Princess Sally Alicia Acorn was normally wary of unexpected visitors to their village, but it was hard to suspect him of any malicious intent. Not only was he a child, the same age as Tails to all appearances, but he also had such a dejected look on his face that it was difficult not to sympathize.

She had just been informed by Slasher that a good deal of the village's food storage had been destroyed by a leaky roof on the shed it had been transferred to. Another mouth to feed would hardly improve their situation, but she couldn't just turn him away. If he really did have amnesia, it could be indicative of even worse problems. She didn't buy the robotizer explanation, however, and told Tails so; after all, she had personally supervised most of the de-robotizations herself, and would have been informed if there had been a problem at any other time.

"But what could be wrong with him, then?" the orange fox queried.

"I don't know..." She addressed the subject of their discussion. "Do you remember anything at all?"

He averted his eyes as he responded. "No... not before this morning." He tried to rationalize the lie in his mind, telling himself that they shouldn't know, that they would just hurt him if they found out.

He failed miserably, his conscience eating at him.

"What's the first thing you can remember?"

"Um..." He shrugged feebly, not wanting to make up any more stories.

She sighed. This wasn't getting them anywhere. Turning back to Tails, she suggested that he bring his charge to the medical hut, and then resumed walking in the same direction she had before the interruption.

***

Tails did as she suggested. It was difficult, he thought, to try to talk to someone who was as depressed as the other fox apparently was, but he tried to come up with something to say nevertheless.

He failed to do so before they reached the medical hut, however, and quickly became occupied in explaining his companion's apparent problems to the feline who served as their closest equivalent to an actual doctor.

The latter ran a small, handheld scanner over the arctic fox. "Hmm... doesn't seem to be anything really medically wrong with him. I ran a bit of a brain scan to see if there's anything wrong that could explain his amnesia, but this unit," he held up the tiny scanner for Tails' disapproval, "is likely going to take all day to process the results, so please be patient. I certainly hope I don't have to examine anyone else today, 'cause this little toy sure won't..." This last part he muttered to himself.

***

The two foxes stood in the snow once again, having just departed the building they had entered not five minutes ago. Tails shortly tried to initiate some sort of dialogue. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know." The other's voice was as melancholy as his appearance. His stomach was beginning to hurt strangely as well; he almost hoped that it was some strange disease that the doctor's sensor couldn't detect, so that he would be spared any further awkwardness.

Tails sensed that his companion desperately needed something to occupy his mind, and fast. Probably something indoors, too... he'd already almost caught hypothermia this morning as it was, from the looks of things. "Come on," the orange fox suggested. "Let's go back to my hut, we can find something to do there. I have a lot of games."

They did so, removing their coats as they entered. Tails dropped to his knees and peered under his bed at the board games stored there, formerly a fairly small collection but supplemented during their visit to the human city. "What do you want to play? I have chess, backgammon..."

"I don't know. Anything."

"Chess, then." Tails' mechanically-inclined brain was naturally adept at the game, and he loved to play it. Several times in the past week he had tried to persuade Sonic to join him, but the hedgehog had usually been too busy or just plain not interested, having an attention span that corresponded with his 0-600 acceleration time.

Lacking a particularly great selection of other furniture, he set the board up on top of his bed and explained the rules. The fox across from him already knew them from the one game Tails had managed to play while he had still been absorbing his thoughts, but nevertheless listened patiently. He wanted to be elsewhere - where, he didn't know - but was so respectful of his host and former "owner" that he didn't want to do anything that would have the remotest chance of offending him.

Tails quickly finished his abbreviated introduction to the game. "So, which side do you want to be?" He giggled a little. "I know... white. It matches your color." He rotated the board accordingly, and began to set up the pieces when something occurred to him. "What should I call you, anyway? I mean, if you forgot your name and all." He was afraid that reminding him might prompt renewed depression, but wasn't quite sure how else to put it.

"Um... I really don't know. Whatever you want," he quickly added.

Tails pondered this puzzle for a moment or two. What would be a good name for an arctic fox? Something that reminded him of snow, maybe. Blizzard? No, it almost sounded threatening. He got up and looked through his books for something more appropriate.

"How about flurry? It means 'a brief, light snowfall' according to the dictionary. And if that was your name you'd be a furry Flurry." He chuckled, somewhat nervously. He was almost walking on eggshells, metaphorically speaking, trying not to do anything that could make his guest's mood worse.

"Fine by me, I suppose. If you want." He tried to sound more enthusiastic, not wanting to disappoint him.

Tails knelt next to the bed again, on his side of the board. "Okay, then, you get the first move."

***

Several hours and at least three-fourths of a very challenging game of chess later, "Flurry"'s mood had improved somewhat. Tails' love of chess was one of the aspects of his personality that had been transferred to the former Mimic, and he actually found the game to be enjoyable.

Not to mention balanced. His skill was, for all intents and purposes, identical to his opponent's. He was afraid, for a while, that being challenged would offend Tails - for that matter, he was so anxious that he almost feared offending him by merely existing - but the other fox did not seem to mind, enjoying the game just as much as he was.

"I didn't know you were so good at this game," Tails said, in between moves.

The compliment prompted a nervous smile. "Neither did I." He genuinely didn't know to what extent his mind reflected that of his host, and was pleased with his performance if it didn't upset Tails.

Their game was interrupted several minutes later as Sonic walked in, forgetting to knock. "Lunchtime, little bro!" His attention then focused on the newcomer. "Cool. Who's your new pal?"

"Well..." He didn't want to bring up the subject again, especially when his guest seemed to be cheering up, but decided that Sonic should know. "He doesn't remember his name. I call him Flurry."

"A furry Flurry, huh?" The hedgehog laughed at his own joke, even going so far as to slap his knee. Tails rolled his eyes for Flurry's benefit, and he giggled in response.

"Well, come on, anyway," Sonic continued. "Bring your friend. We have plenty of food." Of course, his assessment was not entirely accurate, but that is the subject of another story altogether.

Quickly donning their coats, they left the game to join him. Sonic kept his pace at a more reasonable level than normal, partially because of the ice and partially because he wanted to know more about the newcomer. "You say he doesn't remember his name?"

"Uh-huh." Tails nodded.

"How come?"

"I'm not sure. You can ask him, you know," he said, trying to subtly hint that it might be appropriate to direct his questions to the other fox.

"Look, he has two tails, just like you!" Flurry became somewhat embarrassed again at the attention, and quickly tried to press his tails together to be more inconspicuous.

Tails noticed this, and whispered in Sonic's ear. "I think he's kinda sensitive about his tails. Better not mention 'em." The hedgehog nodded understandingly, and the two of them continued to talk about the day's happenings as they walked, their companion content to be silent.

Eventually they arrived at the community hut, where various dishes had been set up on tables inside. Several other villagers stood about, either preparing, arranging, or consuming the food. The white fox's nose detected the myriad scents, and he was instantly reminded of the pain in his stomach. So that's what it was!

Not knowing what to take, he got in the makeshift line behind Tails and duplicated his selections. Several questioning glances were thrown in his - and his twin tails' - direction, but no actual queries were asked. This Mobian was with Sonic and Tails, after all, so he must be alright.

Flurry was almost ravenous with hunger, but tried to be polite; in sharp contrast with Sonic, who was consuming chili dogs with such enthusiasm and carelessness that the orange fox next to him genuinely looked a tad embarrassed for once.

Shortly following the meal, they proceeded to play in the snow at Sonic's insistence. Snow forts were built, and battle lines were drawn with the hedgehog on one side and the two foxes on the other. Tails eagerly exchanged fire - or snow, as the case may be - with Sonic, but he also conversed with Flurry as he did so, the other fox being more interested in quieter play. He constructed entire snow cities in intricate detail; almost disappointed as a stray snowball landed in his creations, until Tails joked about it being part of a meteor shower.

The only cities he really knew of were Knothole, from direct experience, and Sapphire City from Tails' memories. The crude buildings that he shaped were oddly mixed, with circular huts right next to equally tall 'skyscrapers'.

Dusk came early in the evening, and Tails suggested that Flurry occupy himself in his hut for the time being, even letting him play on the computer - he and Sonic had to go to a special Freedom Fighters-only meeting. The arctic fox was somewhat curious about the matter, but decided not to ask. After all, if he'd needed to be told then Tails would have done so already, assuming that he knew.

Hanging his coat up inside his host's residence, he sat down in front of the desk and activated the computer. It was a small machine, but it had a full-sized keyboard and monitor, at least on Mobian scale. A gamepad and several optical compact discs were strewn about the desk's surface, except for one spot which was occupied by a cardboard box.

Looking at it prompted a thousand sensations at once. Pleasant memories of the few days he had spent as Tails' pet. Guilt that he had lied about his identity. Sadness, uncertainty - would he stay like this forever? What would happen to him?

These thoughts stayed with him, and he eventually placed the box on the floor outside of his field of vision, hoping to concentrate on something else. Several minutes and game discs later he found a program that he liked, and became quite happily absorbed in its virtual world.

***

The meeting lasted for quite some time, and afterwards a late dinner was served. Since Tails would be participating in something that the other Freedom Fighters called "Operation SQ" for the next couple of days, he arranged for Flurry to stay with some of the other villagers for the duration.

Like most of the other inhabitants of Knothole they were friendly enough, and the experience was at least tolerable. He worried, though, about what would happen when everyone got back from that SQ thing. The village's leaders would have to decide what to do with him, and having such a low opinion of himself he was sure that the results would be distinctly unpleasant.

Part Four

---------

In the afternoon of the second day after Tails' departure he returned, along with Spike, Zephyr and a nearly frozen blue hedgehog. He had fallen through the ice on a river, Tails explained.

Sonic seemed to have been injured in the experience, and Zephyr - an almost completely robotized echidna - left for help, bringing the feline physician with her. While Flurry sat off to the side reading a book that he had borrowed, Tails assisted the doctor in bandaging Sonic as he thawed out by the fireplace. Parts of their conversation drifted in his direction, but he tuned them out, concentrating on his reading. A thick, leather-bound Mobian history book, going back before the human landing to chronicle hundreds of years, and as interesting as its vocabulary was complex.

He heard his name mentioned, and his ears perked at this. He continued to act as if he were reading as he listened.

The feline's voice. "A furry Flurry, huh? Sounds like a frozen dessert." He blushed a little at this, but tried to conceal his response.

Tails spoke. "I came up with the name, you know."

"Sorry. Anyway, my silly computer finished that scan a couple of days ago, but with this whole SQ thing I wasn't able to tell you 'till just now." Now he was beginning to worry.

"Oh? Did you find out what's with his amnesia?"

"Well, it was kind of hard to make out. His brain seems perfectly healthy, but there's an odd little growth along his spinal column, like a parasite or something. It looks like it's trying to tie itself into his brain stem." His worry turned to fear, accompanied by humiliation. A parasite; yes, that describes me pretty well, he thought. I have no right to be here, living in their houses, eating their food, reading their books, using _his_ form... he shuddered, and hoped that he wasn't noticed.

There was a pause; he peeked over his book to see Tails looking into the scanner's screen. "Hey - that looks just like my pet!"

The book hit the floor with a thud as its reader abruptly ran for the door and out into the cold.

***

He ran for several minutes, stopping around the edge of the village and collapsing in the snow, staring up at the clear sky. It was, however, overcast along one area. Good, he thought; maybe there will be a snowstorm and I'll be buried. Or at least there might be a flurry, ha ha.

"Flurry" was still laying there a minute later when Tails ran up to him. Neither spoke for several seconds, until the orange fox broke the silence.

"I know what you really are."

He just nodded, sniffling back tears.

"You need to come out. You shouldn't be in there."

He'd tried; oh, how he'd tried, but he could no longer feel his tentacles or any part of the organism that he used to be. Probably, he thought, it's already woven into the nerves completely and I'm stuck like this forever.

But he said nothing, and Tails continued. "It's not right to take away that fox's free will. It's just as bad as robotizing."

Now he was confused. "What?" he asked, through his tears.

"The doctor says you're really a parasite that got itself attached to someone's spinal cord."

"No," he choked, sitting up. "That's not it." And for several minutes thereafter he poured out his entire life's story as far as he could remember it, from waking up next to the probe to hibernating in the shed to being Tails' pet and finally, copying his genetic patterns and ending up like this.

"I'm sorry," he finished, voice hoarse from anguish and freezing cold. He started shivering again. "I should have told you, but I wasn't sure what you'd think and I didn't want anyone to know."

Tails just sat back in astonishment throughout the entire story. And when it was over, he helped the other fox up and brought him back to the village. Flurry didn't quite know what would happen next, but he was sure that the worst was over.

And for him, it was.

For the next few months, anyway.


End file.
